Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Massur Dal & Carrot Soup

An Indian-inspired lunch box today. Massur dal (aka red lentils) and carrot soup is in the thermos. The whole wheat dumplings are filled with turmeric potatoes and peas (aloo matar), and some mango slices and cucumber raita are on the side. A dark chocolate (the Halloween candy is starting to arrive!) is the treat.Verdict: He loved the soup and the potato-stuffed dumplings, the cucumber raita not so much. As he does with anything breadlike, he decided one piece of the dumpling was the "crust", so he left that one piece. Too funny! We lucked out and scored some good, creamy mangoes this time. 3 stars.

18 comments:

Dayna
said...

id just like to say that im in love with your website and i really appreciate the ways in which you make healthy and nutritious food so creative and tasty..i know youve mentioned that you're publishing a cookbook and i would love if you put in the recipe for that carrot-lentil soup in this lunchbox, it looks so good! anyways, just thought id leave a comment, and compliment you on your great work-Dayna

Mmmm,red lentils. I made red lentils soup today too! I've never tried making my own "dumplings", did you use a basic whole wheat dough? Also, what kind of soy yogurt did you use for the raita? Those mangoes look divine! I get so upset when I buy mangoes and they're half bad I even cut them. Anyway, awesome lunch as usual. :)

Hi, miriam! The dough is loosely based on Indian "paratha" dough, which is sometimes stuffed with spicy mashed potatoes, rolled out, and fried. I stuffed mine and baked them instead.

The raita is made with silken tofu instead of yogurt, as I can't find plain soy yogurt around here that isn't sweetened. Sometimes I make my own, but this time I had some open silken tofu in the fridge. Yes, most of our mangoes are disappointing, too, so it was refreshing to find a good batch.

The produce "king" at my local Whole Foods will cut a mango open if you ask him. He told me that all I need to do is ask and he will cut any one of those strange and exotic fruits for me to taste. No, I'm not that cute, they're just big on customer service is all. He volunteered the service once for me and I was so impressed. Ask them at your grocery store. They might suprise you too.

Hi, stonetree! The dark chocolate Halloween candy were in the health food section at my regular grocery store (Fred Meyers). They are "Endangered Species" brand. A lot of regular candies are vegan, too, like Smarties, Airheads taffy, Nerds, etc. I think PETA has a list on their website. We've got to keep those trick-or-treaters happy! :-)

Endangered Species chocolate is my family's very favorite chocolate! And, as I know from experience, you can order directly from them if you can't find it locally, or if your store doesn't carry the kind you like. Their website is www.chocolatebar.com.